GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER BERTRAND GETS A HUG FROM TEAMMATES AFTER HITTING THE WINNING KILL IN THE GRIZZLIES FIRST GAME AGAINST LE GRAND ON MONDAY NIGHT. F or a 16-year-old Brazilian girl, coming

to Mariposa was a bit

of a culture shock. By a couple months into the school year, though, Martha Bertrand has hit her stride and is a full-blown Grizzly.

Bertrand is an exchange student from Sao Luis, Brazil, which is on the north east coast of the country. The city is considerably bigger than Mariposa. Bertrand said it is comparable to Modesto in size.

Not only is the size of her home city different than the one she lives in now, but the size of her family is considerably different, too. Bertrand lives with the Barrett Family, which includes parents Terry and Lori, and five children: Evan, Larissa, Brook, Makayla and Jenna. Evan and Larissa are away at school, but the house is still pretty full with four girls.

THE CIRCLED AREA SHOWS WHERE MARIPOSA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGE STUDENT MARTHA BERTRAND IS FROM IN BRAZIL. Bertrand says it really isn’t a difficult transition for her, though. She said she has 21 cousins who are like siblings, so she is used to the busy nature of a large family.

The young adventurer followed in her 19-yearold sister’s footsteps by coming to American. Lara, her older sister, spent a year with a family in Sacramento. The Barretts knew the family, and that is how Martha landed in Mariposa.

She came here because she wants to learn English for her future career as a doctor. “I want to meet new people and try to survive without my family,” she said. Apparently she is not only surviving, but thriving, at Mariposa County High School.

“This school,” is what she named as the best thing about Mariposa. She admits it was tough in the beginning. “At the first moment, I was like ‘what am I doing here?’ Now, it’s good.”

GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER JUNIOR MARTHA BERTRAND LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE MICHAEL JORDAN AS SHE LEAPS TO DROP A KILL ON WATERFORD. High school is very different in Brazil, where students study for three years, not four. Bertrand said the first two years are general education, but the final or “third year” is a heavy-duty review. When she returns, she will be half-way through her second year. The school year runs from January to December in her country.

Bertrand likes her math class and chemistry, even though she says its a difficult class. She doesn’t really like English. Her native language is Portuguese, so taking Spanish is a relatively easy transition for her.

Some things are available to her on both continents, and one of those is something she loves: volleyball. Bertrand has been a standout on the varsity team for the Grizzlies this year. “I love volleyball,” she said, noting that she has been playing competitively for eight years. In Brazil, the sport goes on all year long.

When the season ends here in the near future, she isn’t sure what she’ll do until soccer begins. For the first time, she won’t have to choose between the sports. Maybe she can squeeze in a trip to Disneyland, a place she definitely wants to see before returning to Brazil in June.

There are things she misses, too. “I miss so much Brazilian food,” she said. “Mostly seafood. We don’t have that here.” She is also amazed at how heavy Americans eat. In her home country, she would have a light breakfast of fruit, followed by lunch of rice and beans or meat. Pizza is taking its toll, she said. “Now, I’m fat,” laughed the very slender girl.

The social scene is very different, too. Bertrand misses the parties, which she said happened “a lot” at home. She misses her parents, Ivani and Genésio Bertrand, sister, Lara; friends and temperate weather. “We don’t have four seasons,” she said. She thinks Mariposa is too cold already. Sao Luis is very close to the equator, so the climate is rather tropical.

She is happy to go to football games and was looking forward to her first-ever homecoming last Friday night. “We don’t have those in Brazil,” she said. “I’m excited.”

Bertrand’s English is excellent, but she is still a little self-conscious about it. At first, she thought the Barretts were the only ones who could understand her. “At first, I had to point at objects I wanted,” she explained. While that need is mostly gone, some things still need work.

“Sometimes, I don’t know the words,” Bertrand said. “I try to explain it, and the words come pretty fast now.”

Even though her time here has really just begun, Bertrand knows there will be an end. “The people I met here I’m going to miss,” she said. “Especially the volleyball team and my host family.”

In the meantime, Bertrand will soak up life as a Grizzly and appreciate Mariposa.

“It’s different than Brazil,” she said. “But it’s good.”